Chess Mage of Faerûn

Chapter 36 Argument
It was another beautiful morning, and the lazy winter sun shone on the regrouped team members.

Ska's mood was not so good, and this depression stemmed from the contributions of Mayor Blanc Gastrich of Nashka.

Ska, who came under the banner of the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance and was indeed there for iron ore trade, was told that due to the failure of previous trades, Nassica had suffered considerable losses, and the lord, councilor, and local merchant guild of Nassica had all blamed the Seven Suns Merchant Alliance for this.

"It is precisely because of your merchant alliance's incompetence and inaction that several ore robberies have occurred during transportation. What's even more shameful is that you're only now coming to address this matter." This was Bai Lang's reprimand.

"Congratulations, your chamber of commerce's credit rating in Naxikai has been significantly downgraded, and this ore is no longer related to you." This was Bai Lang's verdict.

Ska, who wanted to ask further about the whereabouts of the ore, was immediately shown the door. Frustrated, he returned to the inn and, filled with anxiety and anger, gathered several people to discuss countermeasures. Among them was someone who served as a magic advisor (self-proclaimed).

"That's the situation. Does anyone have any suggestions or solutions?" Ska's tone seemed calm, but his pale lips and the prominent veins on his temples revealed his true feelings.

The adjutant, Sori, remained silent, as did the two priests of the Temple of Heim. They would gladly lead the charge and be at the forefront, but when it came to negotiations and trade, they were truly at a loss.

Only Lawrence, the old fox, spoke up: "The hijacking of the trade caravan is not solely our responsibility. The real issue is that Nassai wants to make up for its losses."

Lawrence said with some doubt, "But that doesn't make sense either. If they don't trade with Baldur's Gate, where will they sell their iron ore? How will they make up for their losses?"

Skater interjected, "Perhaps it's Am? Sike itself is within Am's sphere of influence. They can make a fortune by selling iron ore to that wealthy Am."

“Not necessarily,” came the voice of a veteran with graying hair. “Trying to cross the long Cloud Mist Mountains for ore trade is like dancing a close dance with Kranz. Heaven knows how many dangers lurk in those mountains. Even if Tamora protects us and we avoid those monsters, the transport vehicles can’t climb mountains. Why would they leave the wide coastal road to carry iron ore up a mountain? Even the stupidest Sikei wouldn’t do such a thing!”

Skaar, speechless and somewhat embarrassed, replied frankly, "I'm sorry, I didn't think it through. But there are only a few factions in the Sword Coast. Besides Baldur's Gate, who else can they trade with? They can't exactly sell to Candlehold, can they?"

"Then why couldn't it be the Iron Throne?" Zhang Yuan asked, "Since the Iron Throne is already our potential enemy, isn't it perfectly reasonable for them to intervene this time?"

The veteran explained, "The Iron Throne does like to do things behind the backs of the Baldur's Gate Council of Four, but as a major trading guild in Baldur's Gate, they also have interests in the mineral trade. In fact, we kept it from them this time to avoid them using it as an excuse to cause trouble."

“As long as this matter is resolved privately, it will only be a matter between the chambers of commerce,” Ska added.

"But what if the Iron Throne was behind this? Wouldn't it be more advantageous for them to monopolize the mineral trade with Nassica?

"If they dare to act so blatantly, they won't be able to withstand the wrath of Flame Fist and Grand Duke Silver Shield."

That's true. Doing that would be turning against them. Even the Iron Throne five years from now wouldn't dare to do that; they would only resort to underhanded tricks.

That being said, Zhang Yuan still felt something was off. Did the Iron Throne really care about that portion of the profits? Were they truly unaware of it? Or were they pretending not to care, feigning ignorance while actually having other plans?

In terms of intelligence, Zhang Yuan wasn't necessarily much better than others, let alone in terms of life experience. But he had one unique advantage: his understanding of the Iron Throne's true intentions. No matter how the Iron Throne concealed or disguised itself, all its methods, when traced back to their essence, pointed to the same goal—to incite conflict and seize power.

How to convince Ska and the others was a problem, since he didn't have any direct evidence. After silently pondering for a while, Zhang Yuan looked at Ska after organizing his thoughts.

“I remember asking you a question when I set off: Why is the Iron Throne secretly opposed to the Council of Four of Baldur’s Gate? This is what you told me.” Zhang Yuan paused slightly, as if recalling: “The noble forces of Baldur’s Gate are not entirely subservient to the four dukes. They each have their own agendas and use the Iron Throne to achieve their own interests.”

“You remember it very clearly.” Ska nodded.

"Then why assume they're unwilling to give up this small profit from the mineral trade? Their goal has never been simply money; it's about manipulating the situation, isn't it?"

Ska was a little unsure and looked at the veteran: "Steve, what do you think?"

The veteran pondered for a while, then shook his head: "Even if the situation is chaotic, it won't benefit the Iron Throne. They've won over a large group of blacksmiths and ore merchants. If there are problems with the ore shipments from Xikai, they'll be in even more trouble than we are."

Zhang Yuan was somewhat unwilling: "Then they can smuggle ore, secretly transport the robbed or purchased ore to their own chamber of commerce, wouldn't that solve their problem?"

“Ore is not gemstone. How could such a large and conspicuous shipment be hidden? Our Flame Fist patrols the entire coastal highway. If they were transporting ore, they would have been discovered long ago.”

Zhang Yuan was speechless. Although he knew that the Iron Throne, Black Claw Mercenary Group, and Cold Blood Gang had cooperated, it was entirely possible that they could bypass the Flame Fist's patrol area. Moreover, these guys might have even opened an iron mine in the Cloak Forest. If they traveled by water, they wouldn't even need to go through the Coastal Highway to reach Baldur's Gate.

While it's unknown whether these events five years in the future have already occurred, the Iron Throne is certainly not as powerless as they believe.

Lacking evidence and sources of information, the person couldn't say it outright, so they could only offer a subtle reminder: "Even so, no one else in the Sword Bay region would want this batch of iron ore. Excluding other possibilities, the probability of the remaining one is still infinitely high, no matter how small it is. I still think the Iron Throne is the most likely suspect."

This time, Steve didn't object: "No matter what, this batch of ore has to be shipped out of Nassica. No matter who the mastermind is, it's impossible for them to leave no trace."

Someone nodded along with Ska, but inwardly they were quite amused: there might really be a mastermind behind it all, and a hand is a claw, after all.

Having made up their minds, the Flame Fist group had no intention of lingering there any longer and left the town that very day.

Although the day trip to Naxike made everyone look a bit like defeated dogs, it was unavoidable in order to lure the snake out of its hole.

The team left Nasikai but did not go far. Instead, they headed to the north of the Nasikai mining area to set up camp and monitor the movement of the ore.

This wait lasts for three days.

(P.S. This chapter was really difficult to write. On one hand, I wanted to remove the suspicion of the Iron Throne from Skaarl and the others' perception, and on the other hand, I wanted the protagonist to find a reasonable flaw in the story. I almost had a mental breakdown while writing it... If you still find it wordy or unnecessarily idiotic, I can only apologize. Skipping it is fine too (^).)
Congratulations to the extra for making his appearance!
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(End of this chapter)